William Russell Frisbie started the Frisbie Baking Company in the 1870's. College students tossed the Frisbie from one person to another. Walter Morrison became interested in flying saucers which led to the Frisbee trademark.
In order to understand the history of the Frisbee, we need to start at the beginning with the Frisbie Baking Company and explain briefly how this invention was eventually manufactured and produced by the Wham-O Company.
Frisbie Baking Company
Believe it or not a pie company in Bridgeport, Connecticut is responsible for the invention of the Frisbee. A man by the name of William Russell Frisbie decided to open a bakery in the 1870's. He wanted this bakery to be a homemade pie bakery, so he had to decide the type of container he would use for the pies. William bought pie plates that were made out of tin and had the name of the bakery embossed on the bottom. This was the beginning of an invention that would be a part of history. History does not mention if children in Frisbie's era played with the pie pans by sailing them in the air. But, in the mid 1940's, Yale University students would use the empty pie tins to toss between themselves. The campus was not far from the Frisbie Baking Company. The Frisbie Baking Company also had locations throughout the region.
Walter Frederick Morrison
The history of the Frisbee continues with a man by the name of Walter Frederick Morrison, who believe it or not had an interest in exploring the concept of flying saucers. Flying saucers were a reality for Morrison. He would contemplate in his mind the idea of alien life and the possibility of the aliens visiting earth and other planets. During the 1950's, filmmakers were capturing this idea and creating on film. He wanted to give his concept of flying saucers more publicity and exposure so he made a lightweight metal toy disk.
Pluto Platter
Your imagination is correct if you visualize that with time the metal disk was constructed of plastic. In the construction of the metal disk, the shape helped the object to fly similar to that of a flying saucer. With the construction of this so-called flying saucer, Morrison's version could fly further with better precision.
On January 13, 1957, the invention could be purchased at a few West Coast stores. Morrison's creation was referred to as the Pluto Platter.
Wham-O Company
Morrison shared his idea and product with Wham-O Company in San Gabriel, California who helped him market these saucers. The name given to the flying object was "Flyin' Saucers". If you take a good look at a Frisbee, you will notice a slope as the Frisbee curves slightly inward. This slope is referred to as the Morrison slope.
Not too longer after "˜Flyin' Saucers' hit the market, they were manufactured out of plastic. Even though they were becoming slightly dangerous, they were still prevalent on the California beaches. Keep in mind that the students at Yale and Harvard were still sailing the empty pie pans through the air. Once the president, Richard Knerr, of Wham-O Company saw this he distributed the plastic flying saucers to the students. After talking to the students, he found they referred to the flying saucers as "Frisbies". The game of tossing Frisbees was called "Frisbie-ing". Knerr did not know the story behind the Frisbie Baking Company; therefore, he trademarked the word "Frisbee". The Frisbie Baking Company closed its doors on 1958. This is the reason the word had a different spelling from the Frisbie Baking Company. Knerr obtained this trademark in 1959.
Ultimate Frisbee
So where did the Frisbee go from 1959? The Frisbee made another debut in 1964 due to Wham-O who made a professional version of the Frisbee. But the creativity did not stop there. In 1967, the Ultimate Frisbee was invented. High school students in New Jersey invented the Ultimate Frisbee. This Frisbee slightly weighs more because of its larger size. Ultimate programs are found in 42 countries and it is known that 100,000 people throughout the world are playing this game. This game will be included in the 2001 World Games in Japan.
Frisbee goes Worldwide
The Frisbee concept was found ten years later as a form of French golf! Los Angeles, California, was the first location to have a disc golf course. What happened to these golf courses using the Frisbee? The number of those golf courses is now numbered at about 500. History continues in 1991 as our war heroes in Operation Desert Shield on Saudi Arabia received a shipment of Frisbees. The U.S. Troops needed this game to boost their energy and relieve tension and stress.
Mattel, Inc. now has the rights to the Frisbee. They purchased the Wham-O Company in 1994. Of course, other companies are also producing Frisbees. Today, Frisbees can be purchased in various sizes and Frisbees with designs are also popular. Wham-O did purchase the Frisbee from Mattel in 1997. San Francisco, California, is the current location for Wham-O.
So the next time you find yourself enjoying the pleasure of throwing a Frisbee, take a moment and remember William Russell Frisbie and the Frisbie Baking Company.
